Page 73 of A Treasure To Keep (Leone Legacy #2)

El

A t thirty weeks pregnant, I can finally check off another thing from my list: my baby shower. Luci, James, Quinn, and I are the last four left at the shower Luci hosted for me, and we’re in no rush to leave.

James brought her son, Oliver, who is sitting beside Gia on a blanket in front of us.

I cannot handle how adorable these two are.

If I’m in charge of this, I’m pushing them together in a closet as teenagers.

A classic game of Seven Minutes in Heaven.

Oliver and Gia can date as teenagers, and Gia and my son can get married after college.

The girl needs to have some fun before settling down.

Or! Technically, she could have both. Regardless, that girl will have plenty of options.

James comes and sits by me, interrupting my thoughts of who I’ll be playing Cupid with when she hands me another virgin mimosa.

“What do you think Luci and Quinn are hush-hush about in the corner?” Oh goodie. Gossip. My favorite pastime.

I turn my head enough to see Luci and Quinn chatting about something in the corner. Since my coffee date with Luci, I’m convinced Alessandro has been diving in balls deep since she got the all clear to have sex again. “I’ll put $100 that she’s pregnant again.”

James raises an eyebrow at me, not believing a word I said.

Before she can argue with me, I interrupt her.

“No, babe. You don’t understand. Take Andrea and my obsession with constantly fucking with a caveman’s need to procreate.

You’ll have Alessandro in a nutshell. Honestly, I’m surprised it’s taken this long.

They conceived Gia within the first couple of times they had sex. ”

James and I continue theorizing if Luci is pregnant until I notice her and Quinn walking over. Quickly, I nudge James, quieting her before Quinn and Luci can hear us.

“What are you two talking about?” Luci’s eyes suspiciously flicker between the two of us. Quiet isn’t a word that would describe either of us. Quiet means mischief.

James and I exchange glances, unsure of what to say, until I speak up. “Nothing major. Placing bets on whose son Gia will date first.”

“Don’t let Alessandro hear you mentioning Gia dating.

I think he would lock her down worse than he had me.

” Luci and I laugh, remembering when Alessandro kidnapped Luci and kept her locked away in what is now Gia’s nursery.

Good times. James doesn’t know much about Luci and Alessandro’s relationship.

Working with Marco and Alessandro as major clients means she knows more about their world than the average person.

Not as much as me, but whatever. That’s not the point.

I stand, smoothing my baby blue maxi dress that hugs my body. I didn’t have enough time to get it hemmed, which didn’t go missed by James, and I need to make sure it’s flattering without me tripping on it. I carefully turn around in my four-inch heels, calming Luci down from potentially spiraling.

“Before we launch the premier episode of Alessandro will become the shotgun dad, let’s load up my car.

Andrea will be off work soon, and I’d love to be able to surprise him by picking him up.

I’ll need the help unloading the car. Enzo, do me a favor and take a break from bodyguard duty and help Domenico load up the car.

” Enzo smiles, silently heading to grab the bags and boxes.

I distract Domenico from practically drooling over Quinn when he does a double-take, surprised by my volunteering him to pack up my car.

I barely have enough space in my car to see through the needed windows and mirrors as I attempt to surprise Andrea at work.

That reminds me, I’ll need to rearrange the gifts to fit Andrea in the car.

If not, I’ll need to strap him to the hood of my car.

And that’s not where I’d prefer to strap him down.

Hold on. Calm down, girl. Let’s focus on being cute, not sexy.

Once I have my thoughts straight, they run to what could happen and what will happen.

What my son will look like, how he will grow up, and the love he will be surrounded by.

As I pull up to a red light before the highway, my son kicks, showing that he approves of his future.

At least that’s how I’m interpreting it.

When the light turns green, I get on the highway, cautiously merging when everything is clear.

Four miles from my exit, I’m still in my blissful thoughts of what my future holds when a car speeds up behind me, zooming into the left lane.

Whoever is driving is at least going fifteen miles an hour faster than I am.

Which, considering I’m going five over, that’s twenty miles an hour over the speed limit.

I barely have time to process what’s happening when the vehicle merges into my lane too early, clipping my front bumper.

My car spins while my upper body flings through the car, my seatbelt the only thing holding me in my seat.

I can hear the squeal of tires around me.

I’m unsure if they’re mine or the surrounding vehicles, preventing themselves from adding to the chaos.

Every time I try to grasp my steering wheel, my body flings to the opposite side, the wheel slipping from my hands.

Suddenly, my car hits something solid, causing it to roll once, twice, three times before landing on its side. I try to blink the fuzziness away when I swat at the airbags around me. I'm logically trying to process everything that happened in the last few seconds. Or was it minutes?

Almost by instinct, my hands go to my belly, rubbing as I try to stay conscious when I speak to my son. The faint sound of sirens settles my nerves. Considering that I have no idea where my handbag went, I’m thankful someone was kind enough to call for help.

“It’s okay, my baby. Do you hear that? People are coming to save us.”

My eyes get heavy as I struggle to stay awake.

“You’ll be okay, my son, I promise.”

Stay awake, El. Why is it hard to stay awake?

“I’ll rest my eyes so I have energy for you, sweet baby. Only for a second. That’s all I need. Then people will be here to help.”

The last thing I remember is the ambulance’s sirens and the sight of my shattered windows disappearing when I close my eyes and everything goes black.